Waterbody Setback Recommendations Ready for Public Comment

New draft recommendations to protect water bodies are coming to Community Councils and other public groups. The Mat-Su Borough Waterbody Setback Advisory Board finalized their recommendations this week. The draft will be sent to the Councils and the public for review for two months.

According to Mat-Su Borough Planning and Land Use Director Alex Strawn, there is a new recommendation for a vegetated buffer. Under certain circumstances, a 25-foot vegetated setback would be required. And more than 50 percent of an existing buffer within 25 feet must remain. It will remain legal to maintain no vegetated buffer if there is none currently. However, planting and mitigation may be required if the landowner seeks a permit for construction.

Recommendations also include new requirements for protecting against potential fuel spills within 75 feet of a water body. Fuel tanks must not be gravity-fed or they must have secondary containment under the new recommendations. These would apply to new and existing fuel tanks within the buffer area.

The recommendations suggest continuing to not allow new buildings within 75 feet of a water body. The Board recommends providing a pathway for structures built between 1987 and the present to become legal. Those structures must be at least 45 feet from the water body. And they would still require engineering review and a permit if they are within the buffer. 

Any grading and filling within the buffer area would require engineering and a permit. That applies to all structures, including non-habitable ones. 

Comments will go to the Planning Department for review. The Board will incorporate comments into the final draft to be presented to the Assembly. Residents can comment directly on the Borough’s Board page. 

https://matsugov.us/boards/waterbody-setback-advisory-board